We’re bidding! UK Town Of Culture 2028

Published: 26 February 2026

We’re bidding! UK Town Of Culture 2028

Deal Town Council is officially entering the race to become the first-ever UK Town Of Culture.

An expression of interest will be submitted to the Department for Culture, Media & Sport by the end of March and we need your voice to lift our bid.

We’ll be explaining Deal’s story, what makes us unique, our history, culture and what it means to call this town home.

Mayor of Deal Cllr Mike Eddy said: “This is an exciting opportunity to show just how we shine.

“Your voice is so important as there are so many ways to understand and perceive ‘what is culture?’ If you can spare five minutes to fill in the survey, we will be able to reflect exactly what culture means to us.”

Please do take a moment to complete the short form below and help shape our journey to become the first-ever UK Town Of Culture.

The winning UK Town of Culture 2028 will receive £3 million to deliver a cultural programme in 2028 of around six months. The other two finalists will each receive £250,000 to ensure they are able to take forward key parts of their bids.

Shortlisted expressions of interest will be invited to submit a full application and awarded bid development grants of £60,000.

There are three categories of town; small, medium and large, and Deal would be classified as a medium with a population of 20,000 – 75,000. Deal Town Council will act as the accountable body for the bidding process and create a Deal Cultural Partnership to steer and deliver the programme.

Key competition milestones: Expressions of Interest deadline: 31 March 2026; shortlisted places announced spring 2026; full application period spring 2026 – autumn 2026; panel visits autumn
2026; finalists and winner announced early 2027.